four little lights
by PablosGirl
Summary: Want to get in the right Christmas mood with a dog, wolf and a pink haired witch? Perfect! My collection of four little, Christmas themed oneshots focusing on Sirius, Remus and Tonks. A little bit of Tonks/Remus, a little bit of hinting but most of all a lot of Christmas spirit spiced up with some humour and fluff. Some parts AU (Sirius alive, Remus/Tonks survived the war).
1. prologue

**author's note: **

**"four little lights" is a collection of four little, Christmas themed oneshots. **

**One for each Advent sunday. **

**They all focus on Sirius, Remus and Tonks. **

**They're not supposed to be related in any way and some of them are a bit AU.**

**Maybe it's getting a bit fluffy, but I'll always try to spice it up with a bit of humour. **

**I'm not a native speaker, so follow the spirit of Christmas and forgive me for any grammar or vocabular mistakes :)**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoy it and that it brings you in the right Christmas mood.**

**I appreciate every single review and it would make my day to read your opinion!**

**PablosGirl**

**o.O.o**

disclaimer:

I do not own Harry Potter or anything related to it.

Just writing for my own fun, wouldn't get paid for it anyway...

**o.O.o**

* * *

Christmas is always a special time of the year, even in the wizarding world.

Everyone's hurrying through the snowy streets, buying gifts for their loved ones or ingredients for the holiday feast.

And yet there are some people, who always miss something during these very special days.

They miss their loved ones, who are long gone and never going to come back.

They miss the good times, when Christmas meant happiness, and grieve over the years they have lost.

And they miss something other people take for granted, something called a "family", something they never got to experience worth the name.

But sometimes fate means well for them, even though the world seems like a darker and darker place.

Sometimes they get to laugh and love behind warmly illuminated windows, forgetting about the cold wind and snow piling up in the streets.

And those are the days, when Christmas becomes what it's really all about...

...even for some lost souls.


	2. gingerbread house

**Hello everyone and a happy first Advent! **

**Here's the first little light for you.**

**The topic was suggested by remusdora, who wanted something with a messy kitchen to turn out romantic ;) **

**I did my best to keep the fluff on a decent level and I really hope that you like it!**

**I'd love to read your opinion about it!**

**Have a wonderful day!**

**PablosGirl**

**o.O.o**

set at number 12 Grimmauldplace. teeny-tiny bit AU. Remus/Tonks

**o.O.o**

**big thanks to remusdora and Is A Bell X3 for reviewing the prologue!**

* * *

Thick, cotton-wool like snowflakes were falling down on London, absorbing some of the busy city's noise and slowly but surely painting the grey pavement white.

Most people were standing at the bus stops with grumpy faces or hurried along the streets to their unknown destinations, their hats and hoods pulled deep over their faces.

Well, most people were annoyed by the weather...but one pink-haired woman was different.

She walked down the streets, nearly dancing to the Christmas song she was humming, with a big smile on her lips and full, brown paper bags in her hands.

And if the people of London hadn't been so concentrated on getting out of the snowy weather, they might have noticed her walking into a small side alley and miraculously disappear.

.  
"I'm baaack!" yelled Tonks cheerfully as she closed the front door of number 12 Grimmauldplace with a push of her hip.

"No need to scream," said Remus with his deep, calm voice as he appeared in the kitchen's doorframe and leant against it with his arms crossed but a gentle smirk playing on his lips.

"I'm not screaming, I'm just happy!" replied Tonks and pushed past him to place her bags on the kitchen counter.

"And why, if I may ask?" asked Remus amused and followed her with his hands in his pockets.

"Well, Mr. Lupin, because it's snowing outside and because I will spend a wonderful afternoon with you," said Tonks grinning and hung her coat over a chair.

"Are you?" asked Remus confused.

"Well, do you have anything else to do?" replied Tonks and pressed her hands on her hips.

"Err...I..."

"See! Come on, Remus, it'll be fun!"

"Um...what?" asked Remus.

"Oh! I didn't tell you yet!" laughed Tonks, still not giving him any further information, which slowly made him nervous.

"So?"

"We're going to make a Gingerbread house!" said Tonks cheerfully.

"A Gingerbread house?"

"A Gingerbread house!" confirmed Tonks and clapped her hands.

"Well, this is going to be interesting," huffed Remus amused, thinking back on all the chaos Tonks had produced whenever she had done something in the kitchen.

"I just bought everything we need for the gingerbread. And the decoration of course!" said Tonks and began to unpack her bags while Remus stepped next to her and looked into the second bag.

"Decoration? This could feed a whole kindergarten!" laughed Remus.

"Come on, it's supposed to be colourful in the end! And paws off the chocolate, we still need that!" said Tonks grinning.

"I can pull myself together, alright?" said Remus smirking.

"Yeah? And what happened to that huge bar of Honeyduke's best chocolate you opened just yesterday?" asked Tonks giggling.

"Err...lost it?" answered Remus and raised his eyebrows.

"Sure!" laughed Tonks and nudged him lightly with her elbow.

His cheeks blushed a little and he quickly turned away to put the bags away.

.

It was about half an hour later and Tonks and Remus were sitting at the table while the Gingerbread was in the oven when Sirius entered the kitchen, his sniffing nose up in the air.

"Are you guys baking?" asked the Animagus without looking at them and followed his nose to the oven.

"Yep, Gingerbread for a Gingerbread house," said Tonks grinning. "Wanna help?"

"Nah...but I'll eat it later," replied Sirius and turned around to them with a mischievous grin.

"Of course you will, you lazy git," huffed Remus amused.

"Don't be so mean!" said Tonks grinning and gently punched his shoulder.

"Yeah, Moony! Don't be so mean! I'm a sensitive, vulnerable person, you know?" said Sirius with dramatic sobs. "I can't stand this any longer!"

He turned around to leave and Remus' and Tonks' eyes met across the table.

With a wide grin on their lips they exchanged a meaningful, amused look, when Sirius' head suddenly appeared in the doorframe again.

"Um, but you'll call me when it's ready, right?" asked Sirius.

"Sirius!" yelled Tonks laughing.

"I'll take that as a yes," replied Sirius with a wide grin and disappeared upstairs.

"Has he always been like that?" asked Tonks and got up to check on the gingerbread.

"Worse..." replied Remus smirking.

.

Half an hour later, when the Gingerbread was out of the oven and cooled down, Tonks grabbed a huge knife from the drawer.

"What exactly are you going to do with this?" asked Remus worriedly.

"Hand it to you, of course. I know you almost get a heart attack every time I use a knife," said Tonks smiling.

"I'm sorry, Tonks, I just don't want you to get hurt," said Remus with an apologetic smile and her face lit up.

"You're worried about me?" asked Tonks and looked up at him with big, sparkling eyes.

"Of course...I mean, you're so...clumsy and fragile...not the best mix," said Remus with a gentle smile and his cheeks turned dark-red.

"Aww! Good I have you then to do all this nasty cutting," replied Tonks, hesitated and eventually got on her tiptoes to place a kiss on his stubbly cheek before turning to the stove again.

Remus couldn't bite back the beaming smile which flashed his lips and he was relieved she had turned around because his ears suddenly felt suspiciously warm like his cheeks.

.

"Are you done yet?" asked Sirius as he stepped into the kitchen where he found Tonks and Remus gluing the roof of the house onto the walls with sugar icing.

"Does this look like we're done?" asked Remus smiling.

"How about we skip the decorating part and start eating?" suggested Sirius.

"What? No! That's the fun part about building a Gingerbread house!" protested Tonks.

"Fun?" asked Sirius incredulously.

"Yeah, of course!" said Tonks and Sirius looked at Remus.

"Absolutely," agreed Remus with a crooked smile as he thought of Tonks' soft lips on his cheek.

Sirius just uttered a muffled grunt and disappeared again with a bottle of butterbeer in his hand.

"So, should we start the decorating?" asked Tonks smiling and filled a piping bag with the rest of the icing.

" Sure," replied Remus.

.

Once they were done, they stepped away from the table to take a look at their work.

The gingerbread was decorated with roof tiles, windows, a door and icicles made of sugar.

It was dusted with finely grated white chocolate, making it look like fluffy snow.

And to Remus' amusement, Tonks had decided to "glue" the sides with numerous colourful candies so now it reminded him more of a crazy kid's drawing than a gingerbread house.

"Tadaa!" sang Tonks and lifted her sticky fingers up in the air.

Everything in the kitchen, including their hands, was covered in sugar icing and melted chocolate.

The Table was covered in sprinkles, blobs of icing in all sizes and sticky kitchen supplies.

"Oh dear..." mumbled Remus as he looked at the chaos.

He had rolled up the sleeves of his shirt but Tonks had managed to spill it anyway.

"I'm so sorry about your shirt!" said Tonks sheepishly and looked up at him with an apologetic smile.

But all Remus saw at the moment was that happy shine in her brown eyes.

"Don't worry about it, we messed up the whole kitchen," replied Remus smiling.

"Yeah, we better start cleaning up, hm?" asked Tonks with a wink and they started to carry the dirty dishes and cutlery to the sink and clean up the sticky, sugary mess on the table.

.

Ten minutes later they were finally done.

The table was clean again and the only thing reminding of their hours in the kitchen was the colourful Gingerbread house on a big plate. The dishes and kitchen supplied were cleaning themselves up in the sink and so Remus and Tonks turned to each other with a content sigh.

"I guess we're done," said Remus smiling.

"Yep, everything's icing-free again...well, except for our hands," laughed Tonks and held up her sticky palms.

"And your face," mumbled Remus smirking.

"Huh? Oh no!" said Tonks grinning and her cheeks blushed.

Remus stepped a little closer and brushed over his own cheek with his thumb.

Tonks imitated him but she only managed to spread it even more with her just as sticky finger.

"Damnit!", laughed Tonks and conjured a big smile on his face.

"Come here," he said and brushed her cheek with the back of his hand.

"I must look like a sugar coated idiot," smiled Tonks sheepishly and looked up at Remus, who rested his hand against her soft skin much longer than necessary...

"No, you still look gorgeous..." mumbled Remus absentmindedly and suddenly looked down at her in shock, his hand still on her skin.

But she only looked up at him witch rosy cheeks, twinkling eyes and a beaming smile, which threatened to turn into a grin.

They just looked at each other for a few silent moments while the snowflakes were dancing through the air outside the window.

Time seemed to have frozen around them, when Remus suddenly moved again.

"Oh screw it," he mumbled and stepped closer to her.

His hands gently cupped her face and the next seconds felt like in slow motion for them.

Tonks leant against his chest and their lips met for a lingering, soft kiss.

.

From this day on, the Gingerbread house became a Christmas ritual for Tonks and Remus.

Afternoons spent in a warm, messy kitchen, with the cold wind making snowflakes dance through the air outside and their hands coated in icing and sprinkles...

And Remus didn't lie when he told their son that his first kiss with his mother tasted like sugar...

* * *

R&R? :3


	3. Christmas at the Lupins'

**Hello everyone and a happy second advent!**

**Here's the second little light for you.**

**I know I'm pretty late, but technically it's still sunday ;) **

**Anyway, this one's a bit AU, you'll see. **

**It's not too long but full of happy fluff.**

**I hope you enjoy it and I would love to read your reviews! :3**

**PablosGirl**

.o.O.o.

**A biiig thank you to Lady Elizabeth of New York, remusdora, danadanaBATMAN and Is A Bell X3 for reviewing the last chapter! It really means a lot to me!**

.o.O.o.

It was a beautiful, storybook Christmas Eve. The meadows and fields around the small village were covered with a thick layer of perfectly white snow, glistening in the half-moon's silver light.

No sound disrupted the silence, except for the crunching sound of two feet walking through the snow.

A dark figure approached the little house, opened the gate of the low fence surrounding it and glimpsed through one of the windows, shining warm, golden light out into the night.

Sirius Black carefully knocked on the door so he wouldn't drop the packages he was carrying under both of his arms.

"Merry Christmas!" he said and his face lit up as the door opened in front of him.

"Merry Christmas, Sirius! We've already been waiting for you! Come in!" replied a pink-haired, young woman cheerfully and let him in.

"Could you..." mumbled Sirius.

"Yeah, of course!" said Tonks and Sirius piled up the boxes he was carrying in her arms.

Tonks grinned to herself and placed the presents on the kitchen table.

"Merlin, it's cold outside, I almost froze my-" said Sirius rubbing his hands but he was interrupted by someone clearing his throat.

Remus walked up to him with a big grin on his face.

"I always forget I can't swear here anymore," laughed Sirius and patted his best friend's shoulder.

"Merry Christmas, Sirius!" said Remus gently and looked down at the small bundle in his arms again.

"Blimey, she has grown!" said Sirius amazed as he stepped next to Remus and looked down at the dozing toddler in his arms.

"You've been here last weekend, Sirius!" laughed Tonks as she entered the living-room.

"Anyway," mumbled Sirius and gently took her from Remus' arms. "Hey there, little star."

Remus wrapped his arm around Tonks who watched her cousin and her daughter with shining eyes.

"Where's Teddy?" asked Sirius and carefully handed Stella back to her mother.

"Upstairs, he was so excited to see his uncle that he fell asleep half an hour ago," explained Tonks with a loving smile on her lips.

"That's my boy," said Sirius with a barking laugh. "Harry told me to wish you a merry Christmas!"

"Thank you, how are they doing? Is Ginny still busy with her wedding plans?" replied Tonks smiling and gently cradled her dozing daughter in her arms.

"Yes, she didn't talk about anything else when I visited them last Monday," said Sirius.

"So it will be bigger than ours then," giggled Tonks and Remus squeezed her shoulder with a crooked smile. "Come on, darling. I told you I never wanted a big wedding and we had everything we needed. Cake-"

"We had some brownies," interrupted Remus amused.

"A happy mood."

"Okay, considering that it was in the middle of the war you could say that."

"You had the best best man anyone could wish for...and ring-bearer...and minister," said Tonks grinning and Remus chuckled with a look at Sirius.

"You can be happy to call such an intelligent woman your wife, Moony!" laughed Sirius.

"I certainly am, Padfoot," said Remus smirking and placed a brief kiss on his wife's cheek. "I'll just quickly wake Teddy up."

"What do you want to drink?" asked Tonks and Sirius followed her into the kitchen while Remus walked upstairs. "Butterbeer?"

"You know me too well," replied Sirius with a mischievous grin and lifted his nose to sniff the delicious smell which filled the kitchen.

"I'm slowly getting better at cooking," answered Tonks his silent question.

But before Sirius could answer her, they were interrupted by a high pitched children's voice form the door.

.

"Uncle Sirius!" yelled a young boy of five years and his hair turned from light brown to a bright turquoise.

"Hey, hey!" said Sirius grinning and lifted his godson into his arms. "Have your parents been nice to you?"

"Yes!" giggled Teddy.

"So your dad didn't eat all your chocolate?" asked Sirius and raised one eye-brow, making the boy laugh.

"Nooo!"

"And did your mum give you a kiss from me every night?" asked the Animagus and tilted his head.

"Yeees!"

"Okay, just checking," laughed Sirius and let the boy down again.

"Daddy, is dinner ready yet?" asked Teddy and tucked his father's sleeve.

"I don't know, how about we ask your mother?" replied Remus smiling.

"I think everything should be ready now, Sirius, could you...?" said Tonks and looked down at her daughter she was still carrying.

"Sure!" replied Sirius and took the toddler from her and Stella awoke with a big, long yawn. "Good morning milady!"

The little girl squeaked happily as she recognized the face of her godfather and startled to giggle as he lifted her above his head.

In the meantime Remus and Tonks brought the food to the big, wooden table in the living room while Teddy placed the cutlery next to the plates.

When all the food was on the table and Tonks had lighted some candles, Remus grabbed her wrist and pulled her into his arms.

"Thank you for cooking," mumbled Remus smiling and placed a lingering kiss on her forehead.

"You helped me!" giggled Tonks.

"So?" replied Remus amused.

"And you haven't even tried it yet!" said Tonks smiling while Sirius placed Stella in her high chair and watched the couple with a tender smile on his lips.

"I'm sure it will be great!" said Remus.

"Of course it will, there's mousse au chocolat for dessert," giggled Tonks and the two sat down.

"You know that I love you, don't you?" laughed Remus quietly and placed kiss on her lips before they sat down.

.

And so they enjoyed their dinner which was indeed very delicious. Tonks couldn't believe she had managed to cook something like this herself and mumbled something like "I can't believe I made this." from time to time while Stella happily shoved pieces of potatoes, meat and small carrots in her mouth.

After dinner they quickly charmed the dishes to clean themselves in the sink and sat down on the big sofa with a butterbeer for the adults and a hot cocoa for Teddy.

Stella had curled up in her father's lap and fell asleep with her head resting against his chest while he supported her back with his hand and absentmindedly stroked it with his thumb.

"The dangerous Werewolf in his natural habit," joked Sirius chuckling and looked at his best friend.

"She loves to fall asleep like this," said Tonks with a loving look at her daughter and gently ran her fingers through Remus' hair.

Stella, unlike her brother, didn't inherit her mother's metamorphmagic-abilities. Her still thin hair was of a light brown colour, much like her father's. Apart from that she looked like her mother...same heart-shaped face, same button nose and rosy cheeks...only her grey eyes were obviously Remus'. Tonks always told everyone that their children were the perfect mixture of her and Remus.

Teddy looked more like his father, except for his still untrained morphing abilities and the occasional turquoise hair of course. But in his behaviour he much more resembled his mother; always cheerful, with twinkling eyes and full of energy...which sometimes led to him stumbling over things and quickly jumping to his feet again, not sparing a thought on crying, to keep playing. And he loved to listen to Sirius telling him stories of his and his dad's prank-filled school time.

Stella, however, was different. Remus had been more than relieved that his daughter didn't inherit his condition either. But he did pass many other traits onto her...she was a calm girl, always observing new things her brother would have stuffed into his mouth in no time. It was still a bit early to tell, but Tonks was sure that the smell of old books calmed her down from the day she was born. And so they had placed a big bookshelf in her nursery with a big collection of old children's books. To this day Tonks often entered the suspiciously quiet room just to find her dozing husband in the armchair with Stella sleeping on his stomach and an open story book in one of his hands.

.

They had been sitting in the living room, talking and laughing for an hour, when Remus wrapped his arm around his sleeping daughter and stood up.

"Hey, Teddy. Come on, daddy'll carry you up into bed," said Remus with a gentle smile on his face and stroked his son's hair to wake him up.

"Not tired..." mumbled the boy and blinked sleepily.

"Hey, the earlier you go to bed, the sooner it will be tomorrow and you can open your presents," whispered Sirius grinning and Teddy bit his lower lip and thought about it for a few moments.

"But you'll visit us again soon, right?" mumbled the boy and rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand.

"Promise, buddy!" replied Sirius and ruffled his hair.

"Come on," said Remus chuckling and took his son's hand to guide him up the stairs after Tonks had placed a tender kiss on her children's foreheads.

When Remus came back again he found Sirius staring at the decorated Christmas tree with an absentminded smile on his lips.

"Are you alright, padfoot?" asked Remus and patted his shoulder before he sat down again.

"Huh? Oh, yes. I'm just happy," replied Sirius and sank back into the pillows again.

"About what?" asked Tonks smiling and snuggled up against her husband's side.

"Just everything. The war is over...and I'm here with you, you are my family, you know. And it just makes me happy to see you happy and to see your children grow up in such a loving environment. Not to mention their amazing godfather..." replied Sirius with a smile on his lips which grew into a wide grin at the end.

"And you're always welcome here!" said Tonks touched and placed her flat hand on Remus' chest.

"Merry Christmas, Padfoot!" said Remus and lifted his butterbeer.

He didn't have to say any big words to tell Sirius how thankful he was for their friendship and his family or how much he enjoyed this very moment, just to sit here with his beautiful wife and his best friend, far away from the fears of the past and his lovely children sleeping peacefully in their beds.

Yes, he was happy.

"Merry Christmas, Moony!" said Sirius with a knowing smile and clicked glasses with his old friend.

And so they sat in the living room until late at night while the warm light of the fire illuminated the smiles on their faces.

Outside their window, the snow was still falling in big, white flakes, covering their small house and everything around it in a cotton wool-like blanket.

It was indeed a merry and happy Christmas...


	4. pink snow

.o.O.o.

**Hello everyone and a happy third Advent!**

**I hope you all had a great week and enjoy your lazy sunday. **

**Maybe I can make it even a bit better with the third little light. **

**It's a bit shorter than the others so far and it's not as fluffy either. **

**Something more serious, set in a time before Remus and Tonks fell in love. So there is no pairing intended or implied in this one, but you may interpret whatever you like :) **

**By the way: the idea with the permanent, pink snow is from the lovely ****_Is A Bell X3, _****who suggested it to me! **

**I hope you enjoy it and I would love to read your opinion! **

**xo PablosGirl**

.o.O.o.

**A huge thank you to Is A Bell X3, danadanaBATMAN and remusdora for reviewing the last chapter! I really appreciate it and I'm happy you enjoyed it! :) **

.o.O.o.

Everything was silent. When he read a book, delved into the pages and lost himself in the words, everything went numb around him. Eyes focused on black ink on ivory paper, every noise drowned out by the voice in his mind reading line after line.

And yet, Remus suddenly looked up, reluctantly breaking away from the book which kept him occupied so he could escape their situation for some time.

He heard footsteps on the stairs, small feet in heavy boots, and he immediately recognized them.

He looked over to the sofa where Sirius was still half sitting, half lying and stared through the window, watching the snowflakes as they slowly fell down from the sky. His face was one single frown, a frown which hadn't left his friend's face in a long time.

Sirius didn't make it very easy for the other Order members to feel comfortable around him. He was grumpy, pessimistic and pretty testy. But Remus knew him better and he knew what kind of person Sirius had been in their youth and what Azkaban had done to him.

Remus had moved in with him recently to keep him company. Sirius would never admit that at night his demons tortured him and that an all too well known horror followed him into his dreams. But the approaching holidays added something different. No matter how much the two men tried to leave the past behind, around Christmas they couldn't stop the memories of happy holiday moments from creeping back into their minds, colouring their mood with melancholy.

And so they unwittingly stayed close to each other, keeping the last bit of what had once been their family alive, no matter how grim and sad it was. They didn't have to voice that they were thankful for having the other one; it was obvious in their actions. Staying up late with a bottle of butterbeer until exhaustion kept the worst dreams away, sharing the rare laughter with each other, casual pats on the shoulder...

.

"Hey guys!" said a cheerful voice from the door, but Sirius didn't even bother to turn around to Tonks.

"Hey," replied Remus with a tired smile.

"How come you haven't decorated the house yet?" asked Tonks and tilted her head.

"Err..." mumbled Remus hesitantly and briefly looked at Sirius, who was still staring into the snowfall.

"Who should we decorate for? Kreacher, that bloody git? Or my lovely mother?" huffed Sirius cynically without moving.

"He's right, it wouldn't be worth the effort, Tonks," added Remus friendlier and shrugged his shoulders.

"Wouldn't be worth the effort? Oh come on, guys! It's almost Christmas! And this house is awful! Why not cheer it up a bit?" replied Tonks, arms akimbo.

"I don't know, Tonks..." said Remus hesitating and eventually closed the book in his lap.

"Sirius...maybe it'll take your mind off things," said Tonks encouraging.

Suddenly Sirius sat up on the couch and looked at her over the backrest. His expression was a strange mixture of disbelief and anger.

"Are you fucking serious?! Do you really think I could forget the death of my best friends, my time in Azkaban, or the war?" hissed Sirius and then turned away again.

Remus looked back at the door, but Tonks was already gone. And so he got up, put his book on the table and left the room.

He found her in the kitchen, back to the door and stirring the tea she had just prepared.

With his hands in his pockets he entered the room and cleared his throat.

"Oh, hey..." mumbled Tonks and looked back at her tea.

"I'm sorry, Tonks. He's just..." said Remus quietly with a sad smile.

"I know...it's okay," said Tonks and forced a smile.

"No it's not. And he knows it himself," replied Remus.

She suddenly felt his hand on her shoulder and he gently turned her around.

"I'm sorry, he shouldn't have yelled at you," said Remus in an apologetic tone.

"You don't need to apologize for him, Remus, it's not your fault. I know how testy he is, but I just meant well, you know," said Tonks and took a sip of her tea.

"I know. He's not always been like that...it's just a bit too much for him around Christmas, I think. You know he can be nice, if he wants to," said Remus with a crooked smile.

"Yeah, and recently he rarely wants that. But I still think that a bit of Christmas spirit could cheer this house up. And you two could use some happiness," replied Tonks winking.

"Oh, I'm fine," said Remus amused.

"Of course you are," laughed Tonks and looked at him over her cup.

"I'll be off then, guard duty," said Remus briefly and turned around to leave.

"Take care!" yelled Tonks after him.

"Sure!" sounded his voice from the hallway.

.

When Remus made his way back home to number 12, it was still snowing outside and so his hair was dusted with big snowflakes.

His guard duty had been eventless, but in this case no news is good news.

His fingers were ice cold which made it pretty difficult to fish his wand from his pocket.

Lost in thought about Sirius' bad mood, Remus opened the door and nearly bumped against it as he wanted to step into the house.

Something heavy seemed to block the door and so he just squeezed inside through the narrow gap.

"What the..." whispered Remus bewildered as he closed the door behind him.

Pink snowflakes were magically falling from the ceiling and the floor was already covered in a thick, fluffy pink blanket; the door had piled it up against the wall in a huge pile, blocking it from opening any further.

Colourful fairy lights were wrapped around the stair-rail, blinking cheerfully into the dark staircase.

"Hey, Remus is back!" sounded Tonks' cheerful voice from the living-room door, snapping Remus out of his bafflement.

"I guess you eventually did decorate the house..." mumbled Remus while Tonks walked over to him with a beaming smile on her lips.

"Yup!" replied the young woman happily and pointed above their heads.

Remus' eyes followed her gesture to the mistletoe above him and before he could react to it he felt her lips on his cheek.

When he looked down at her again she had already turned her head and patted her own cheek with her fingertip invitingly.

He sniffed amused and bent down to place a kiss on her skin.

"Merlin, you're freezing cold, Remus!" laughed Tonks. "Come on, I'll show you the living-room."

"There's more of this..." asked Remus hesitating.

"Yes?" asked Tonks amused.

"Holiday glory?" finished Remus his sentenced chuckling.

"Oh yes!" replied Tonks as they entered the living-room.

.

Remus didn't know if he should just stare at it in shock or break out into laughter...

The whole room was loaded with Christmas decorations. The fireplace was framed in a fir garland with classic tartan ribbons. On the wall above it was a big fir wrath with red, white and green baubles. A warm fire was crackling in the fireplace, making it look like a scene from a sugary Christmas movie filled with love, peace and harmony.

"Wait till you see the tree!" giggled Tonks as she noticed the wide smile which had spread on his lips unwittingly and turned him around.

On the other side of the room was the huge Christmas tree. It was so big that the topper almost touched the ceiling and there was so much decoration on it that it was hard to find a piece of fir green between it.

It was a wild mix of classic fairy lights and the same red, green and white baubles on the one hand, and bright, colourful baubles and blinking multi-coloured fairy lights on the other hand.

"Do you like it?" asked Tonks cheerfully and snapped Remus out of his thoughts.

"Yes," he replied without even thinking about it. "How did you do that? I've only been away for a few hours."

"Maaagic!" whispered Tonks and waved her hands around in front of his face.

"I see," replied Remus chuckling. "You spared us the pink snow in here."

"Well, I was more or less forced to," said Tonks. "I had already charmed the ceiling but then one single snowflake got into the fireplace and there was this ugly frizzling noise and violet sparks...so I thought I'd better skip this in here before I blow the whole house up."

"Good idea. So, what about Sirius? Has he seen it yet?" asked Remus in a worried tone.

"Yes, he did," replied Tonks grinning.

"And?" said Remus a bit more relaxed.

"Come and ask him yourself, Moony," sounded another voice from the door and they turned around.

Sirius was leaning in the door frame with his arms crossed in front of his chest, a wide grin on his face.

"Doesn't seem like you hate it, do you?" replied Remus amused and slowly walked up to him.

"Nope, I quite like it actually. Tonks was right and I already told her that I owe her a favour for my ranting," explained Sirius casually.

"Oh, Christmas harmony right from your lips. I'd never thought I hear that from you," joked Remus.

"Yeah...but do you know what's the best part about all this?" asked Sirius with a suspiciously mischievous grin.

"No..." replied Remus hesitantly.

"Mistletoes," said Sirius and wiggled his brows and Remus looked up at the fresh green hanging from the ceiling above their heads.

And as he looked down again he already felt the weight of two big paws on his shoulders and a wet, slobbery dog tongue across his face.

"Merlin, padfoot!" growled Remus and tried to hold back his laughter as he chased the dog into the snowy hallway. "Come back, you filthy mutt!"

Tonks, however, was still standing in front of the fireplace which warmed her back. With the fairy lights reflecting in her eyes and a never ending Christmas carol playing in her head she watched the two old friends. And right now, at this moment, she couldn't think of any better place to be. The war might be near and old demons may chase her friends, but here, inside this ever so grim house, a sudden feeling of comfort and safety was warming their hearts. Christmas spirit had moved in and it might just stay for a few days, but for now they were happy.


	5. furry Christmas

.o.O.o.

**Hello everyone, I hope you have a great fourth advent sunday! **

**Here is the fourth and last little light for you! **

**I really hope you enjoy it. This was actually the first Christmas oneshot I wrote, even before I got the idea for "four little lights". **

**You could call it a bit AU, although there's no change in time, setting or relationships to the books. But there's something in there which doesn't happen in the books, obviously. Once again, I didn't intend to hint any relationship in this one. So feel free to interpret whatever you like, no matter if Remus/Tonks or Remus/Sirius.**

**I might write some oneshot-sequels to this one, but only maybe. Tell me if you'd be interested with more "furry" oneshots.**

**I'd love to read what you think about it! It would make my day! :3**

**I will answer any reviews to this chapter via pm. Therefore I wanted to wish all of you a wonderful Christmas or whatever holiday you are celebrating and a Happy New Year! Spend time with the ones you love and enjoy a big cup of hot chocolate or tea! **

**xo PablosGirl**

.o.O.o.

**A big thank you to ****_remadora-ftw_**** and ****_Is A Bell X3_**** for reviewing the last chapter! :)**

.o.O.o.

The grey smut which usually covered the dirty cobblestone road in East London was hidden under a pure, glistening, white coat.

Thick, white flakes fell from the sky in slow motion, absorbing the city noise so that nothing but the quiet sound of snowflakes falling on the white blanket could be heard.

But the fairytale-like silence was quickly interrupted by the scrunching noise of heavy boots stepping through the snow, leaving behind deep prints.

Nymphadora Tonks, or Tonks, as she wanted to be called, stamped off the snow from her shoes, as she arrived at the front steps of number 12.

Her arms seemed to be wrapped around her chest, covering the small wrapped up blanket she was carrying.

The cloud of her warm breath swirled when she tapped the door with her wand and stepped in.

.

Busy noise immediately reached her ears, while her nose filled with the delicious smell of Molly preparing the Christmas Dinner.

She perked her ears up and to her relief she could make out Sirius' and Remus' voices, too, from the hum of voices in the kitchen.

So she quickly went upstairs into her room, to prepare the two men's present she had been planning over the last months.

She tried to imagine their reaction and a bright smile flashed her lips...

.

Two hours later Tonks was still in the room she had been living in for a few weeks now.

Eventually the daily commute between the Ministry, her own flat and Grimmauldplace had been too much for her and so she had accepted Sirius' offer to move in with him and Remus.

Suddenly someone knocked on her door and Tonks quickly jumped to her feet.

"Who is it?" she asked, standing right behind the door.

"Ginny! Dinner's ready!" answered a female voice and Tonks opened the door.

"Phew, I already thought it would be Remus," Tonks smiled at the youngest Weasley.

"He already wanted to go up and get you, but I jumped up like a maniac and ran upstairs before he had even left the kitchen. You should've seen his face!" said Ginny and beamed at the pink-haired witch.

"Okay, let's go. Unless Molly will get pissed," Tonks answered, locking her door with a charm and winking at the girl.

"So...did you get it? I'm sooo curious!" Ginny said with a bright grin on her face as they walked down into the kitchen.

"Yes...it's perfect! They'll love it, you'll see!" laughed Tonks and gave her a last look, as they entered the kitchen.

Everyone else was already there.

Molly and Arthur Weasley with the twins and Ron, Hermione and Harry, Kingsley and Mad-Eye and of course the two Marauders...Sirius and Remus.

The whole kitchen smelled of the wonderful food Molly had cooked for them and Tonks quickly sat down so they could start to eat.

The mood was relaxed and happy.

Everyone enjoyed the dinner and chatted with the others.

Harry and Ron were talking about Quidditch, the girls giggled and the twins seemed to be planning their next prank.

Sirius and Remus seemed to listen to them and even threw in some improvement suggestions from time to time, which made Molly glare at them warningly.

Tonks however spent most of the dinner watching the others with a small smile on her face and blazing with pleasant anticipation on the inside.

"Full and happy?" Remus voice suddenly snapped her out of her thoughts.

"Huh? Oh, yes, the food was brilliant, right? If I didn't know better, I'd say Molly can perform magic!" Tonks said and winked at him grinning. "Why are you asking?"

"Well, you're all smiles," he said and a soft smile flashed his lips, too.

"That's because I'm happy...I love seeing everybody so relaxed and content for a change. Aaaand I'm looking forward to handing over your presents," Tonks said with a mischievous smile.

"Why's that?" Remus asked, perking up his eyebrows curiously.

"Did I hear "presents"?" Sirius interrupted them.

"You'll see!" Tonks laughed and turned to her dessert again.

.

Half an hour later the plates were washing themselves in the sink and everyone had sat down in the living-room.

Well, except for Kingsley and Mad-Eye, who had to leave for their night-shift.

Everyone was exchanging presents, until Tonks raised her voice.

"Let's see...I think there's only two of you left without a present," she said with a beaming smile at Remus and Sirius, who were sitting next to each other on the smaller sofa. "I'll be back in a minute; your present is still upstairs."

The two men exchanged a confused smile and Sirius shrugged his shoulders.

"We all wanted to watch you two unwrap it, so Tonks kept it upstairs," said Hermione with a beaming smile and the others nodded eagerly.

"What by Merlin's sagging, old-" said Sirius, but Molly cut him off with an angry glare before he could finish his vulgarities.

"I don't know why, but I'm feeling a bit uncomfortable..." mumbled Remus and lightly nudged Sirius with his shoulder, while eight beaming faces were looking at them.

But Tonks had already returned with a big, quadratic box, wrapped in dark-red paper and a huge golden ribbon.

"That's for you two!" she said with sparkling eyes and carefully handed Sirius the present.

"What do you think, Moony? Shake it?" asked Sirius with a crooked smile and already readjusted his hands to shake the box.

"NO!" called a choir of nine voices and especially Remus flinched, looking like a startled deer.

"Don't shake it!" said Tonks with a nervous smile.

"So, it's fragile?" asked Remus hesitantly.

"Kind of..." said Tonks and her smile got bigger again.

"Would it explode?" asked Sirius and a mischievous look flashed his eyes for a second.

"You'd love that, wouldn't you?" said Remus to him with a smirk.

"Come on, open it up, don't wait so long!" said Ginny impatiently.

Remus however seemed to process what had just happened.

.

It had to be something special, because everyone wanted to see their reaction...

Sirius mustn't shake the box...

He should hurry up opening it...

And then Remus noticed the big holes Tonks had punched into the cardboard on two sides of the box...

He quickly looked up at Tonks, as if he was waiting for her to confirm his suspicion.

But she just beamed at him and so he looked back at Sirius hands, which just pulled the lid off the box.

A small, black nose appeared under the half opened lid.

Sirius just sat there, his jaw dropped, while a rather big puppy stretched its head out of the box, sniffing Sirius' hand with its wiggling nose.

"Merlin..." whispered Sirius with a bright grin on his face and lifted the little dog out of the box and into his lap.

The puppy immediately stood up on its hind legs, pressing his paws against Sirius chest and began to lick his chin with whimpering noises.

"Remus?" Tonks said with quiet amusement and snapped him out of his fascination.

He hadn't noticed the beaming smile which had appeared on his lips while watching Sirius and the dog.

"Huh?" he said and smiled again, as he looked into Tonks' questioning eyes.

"Here! That's your other daddy Moony! See?" said Sirius and held the puppy in front of Remus' face so that he got some wet kisses, too, as he turned around to him again.

"Hey there!" said Remus softly and took the dog from Sirius.

"So?" asked Tonks smiling.

"It's perfect, Tonks!" said Sirius and stood up to hug the pink-haired witch. "Hey Remus, let's call him Merlin! So if we won't get him neutered I have a reason to say 'Merlin's sagging balls'!"

"You're crazy, my dear Padfoot!" laughed Remus. "Besides, I'm afraid this won't happen...it's a she."

"Oh...doesn't matter, let's call her Merlin anyway," said Sirius and sat down again, took Merlin back and ruffled her behind her ear.

"Ok, if you like," said Remus and the smile seemed to be glued to his face.

He stood up and hugged Tonks, too.

"Thank you very much, Tonks!" he whispered next to her ear.

.

"She's so cute!" said Ginny and couldn't hold back a girly squeal anymore.

"Yes, she is indeed," said Sirius and looked up.

Merlin had curled up in a ball on his lap, looking through the room shyly but curiously.

She was rather tall with enormous paws, which indicated that she would probably grow up to be nearly as big as Snuffles.

Her fur however was shorter and silky.

It was of a creamy white colour with black speckles all over it and a bigger black mark here and there, one covering her floppy right ear.

"Where did you get her, actually?" asked Remus.

"From a shelter...one of my father's nieces works there and told me about her. She was abandoned in a flat where she stayed all alone for five days until the landlord found here. She used to be quite anxious, but now she's getting braver and braver," explained Tonks with a small smile on her face.

"She's gorgeous!" said Sirius. "We'll take care of you from now on, yes we will! Who's your favourite Padfoot? Yes, that's right, I'm your favourite Padfoot! Oh, I'll show you how to roll around in muddy puddles and chew up Moony's shoes! That'll be fun. He'll try to be angry, but he really won't be."

Remus watched Sirius talking to Merlin baby-talk-like and shook his head with a grin.

As far as he could remember, this was the best Christmas he had had since their time in Hogwarts.

Molly was already handing around eggnog and hot cocoa while the others had begun to chat again.

Two hours later, a quietly snoring Sirius was sitting on the couch next to Remus with a furry little black and white ball on his lap.

No doubt, these two would cause him a lot of trouble and work in the future...and Remus was more than thankful for it.

* * *

**So, this is it. I hope I could bring you in the right Christmas spirit because it was a pleasure to write this for you :) ****- PablosGirl**


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